Land grabbing is the kind of thing you might associate with poor countries on Africa or Latin America. 
But there are poor countries in Europe too. Romania for instance - where land is cheap, plentiful and fertile.  

Until now there have been restrictions on who can buy up Romanian land - but from the first of January - that will all change. 

Big multi-nationals have already moved in, putting up prices and pushing out small farmers who haven't had the opportunity to modernise their farms. And there are worries that is all about to get much worse come the new rules in the New Year....

Lucy Burton reports.

(First broadcast on BBC World Business Report 27th Dec 2013)

Romania Land Grabs

It's been 23 years since the world learnt about the appalling conditions and abuse orphans in Romania were subjected to under communism. 

Although many of those institutions have closed, those children who were born under Ceausescu's rule are now young adults and many are not prepared to make the jump into normal society. 

Two thousand young adults leave institutions every year and unable to get jobs, they end up on the streets.

Lucy Burton reports.

(First broadcast on BBC World Business Report 26 Dec 2013)

Orphans in Romania

Are newspapers dying? Are traditional TV broadcasters living on borrowed time? Do we face a future of digital diversity, or a media maelstrom where niche broadcasters fight tooth and nail for every slice of advertising revenue, a feeding frenzy for status in an ever more fragmented market?

Well, these are just some of the questions which we'll be looking at this week, in a series of special reports on how the media landscape is changing. I've been out and about, talking to the new media barons, meeting with advertising gurus, fringe broadcasters and the next generation of programme makers.

But we'll start with radio - and specifically shortwave radio. This was the technology which first made international broadcasting over huge distances possible. It was used for decades by the BBC World Service, the Voice of America and Radio Moscow.

Nowadays, its rather fallen out of fashion, with many broadcasters having drastically cut back their shortwave transmissions or abandoned them altogether. So is it doomed to disappear altogether, or does it have a future in the digital era?

To find out, we sent our reporter Lucy Burton to visit Radio Romania - which still broadcasts on shortwave.

(First broadcast on BBC World Business Report 30th Dec 2013)

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